"When he stood up, he was passing out" - Khamzat Chimaev's coach Andreas Michael details incidents that led to his decision to stop 'Borz's botched weight cut at UFC 279
Khamzat Chimaev's head coach Andreas Michael has shed light upon the incidents that led to his star pupil's botched weight cut.
Chimaev was scheduled to face Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout at UFC 279 on Saturday, September 10. However, 'Borz' weighed in at 178.5 pounds, thereby failing to make the 171-pound non-title bout welterweight limit.
Resultantly, three of the UFC 279 main card bouts had to be reshuffled to save the fight card. Chimaev subsequently fought Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight bout and won via first-round submission.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Andreas Michael recalled the UFC 279 weight cut debacle. Michael acknowledged that Chimaev started his fight camp a bit heavier than usual. Additionally, he indicated that after his battle with COVID-19 in the recent past, Chimaev has had trouble cutting down to welterweight.
Nevertheless, Michael suggested that all was going well in the weight cut leading up to UFC 279. He recalled that on Thursday night, ahead of the official weigh-in on Friday, he'd left Chimaev under the supervision of Guram Kutateladze and another person from their team. Later that night, they went to Michael's hotel room to inform him that Chimaev was having health issues. Michael stated:
"They came in my room in the middle of the night, and they told me Khamzat is having problems, health issues. So, we all got scared. We called the UFC for the physician. And the physician, under close examination, said that he would not advise us that we continue cutting weight. And when a doctor tells you that, you get scared, right?"
Michael further revealed:
"He was getting muscle spasms, shaking, vomiting. When he stood up, he was passing out."
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Andreas Michael noted that he couldn't risk Khamzat Chimaev's long-term health. Therefore, on the doctor's advice, Michael instructed 'Borz' to stop the weight cut.
Watch Michael discuss the topic at 2:14:18 in the video below:
Is a Khamzat Chimaev middleweight move on the horizon after UFC 279?
The undefeated Khamzat Chimaev holds the No. 3 spot in the official UFC welterweight rankings. While he's currently on a quest to capture the UFC welterweight title, he's also expressed interest in fighting for the UFC middleweight title.
Regardless, with 'Borz' having missed weight by a large margin at UFC 279, the UFC is unlikely to hand him a welterweight title shot right away.
Khamzat Chimaev taps out Kevin Holland in the first round.
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It's entirely possible that 'Borz' could fight a top-10 opponent at middleweight next, with the Leon Edwards-Kamaru Usman trilogy clearing up the welterweight title picture in the meantime.
However, another option for Khamzat Chimaev is a potential No.1 contender fight at welterweight against the No. 2-ranked Colby Covington.